Many eons ago, a young boy was walking alone in the forest. He had tears in his eyes for he was lonely. His little tummy growled unendingly from hunger, and he shivered because he was cold. He had wandered away from his village and was lost and alone. It was now dark, and the boy curled up against a tree and sobbed loudly.
The boy was oblivious to the fact that there was a predator nearby who was also hungry. This predator watched the boy cautiously, unsure of what sort of danger he was up against. He looked at the boy’s tiny soft hands, his mouth which lacked fangs, and the boy’s soft skin. No, this boy was going to be an easy dinner, the beast thought to himself. And he would have been…
A bright light suddenly shone down from the heavens and lit up the night sky. The boy gasped in astonishment as a beautiful white light floated down from the treetops and came to a halt just before him. It seemed to change shape and transform into a beautiful maiden with shimmering long flowing hair, and glowing bright blue eyes.
“Hello child, don’t be frightened. I am Tierrihan, I am one of the stars that you see at night up in the heavens. I have come down to help you. Why are you crying, what is wrong?”
The boy studied her for a few moments silently. His trembling voice came out in a soft whisper. “I am cold, I am hungry, I am lonely. I am scared. I am tired. I can not fall asleep or else I may fall prey to the beasts out there. I am defenseless.”
The Guardian looked at the vulnerable human boy and felt sorry for him. She looked thoughtful for a moment, than nodded to herself. She pursed her lips together and blew forth a loud, shrill sounding whistle. A yapping noise could be heard in the distance coming closer and closer, and then out of nowhere appeared a strange looking animal. The animal was furry and had a tail that wagged back and forth and a huge tongue hanging from its mouth. IT_ was the thing that was making the strange yapping sounds, and it seemed to curl its lips up as if it was smiling. The animal bounced forward energetically almost throwing itself into the boy’s arms.
“It’s called a dog.” explained the Star, “He’s here to be your guardian. He is the guardian of the lost and lonely, the hungry and cold, the tired, neglected and abused… The warmth of his fur will keep you warm, his ears will hear things that you can not hear, and his teeth are sharp and can defend you, his nose can smell danger, or pick up the scent of prey when you are hungry, and he is strong so he can hunt with you. He will stand watch over you while you sleep, and comfort you when you are scared, you can dry your tears in his fur, and he will make you happy again, and he will play with you and keep you from being lonely. He will give his life up for you in the face of danger if it means saving you. He will be your best friend...”
“And in return,” the star continued, “You must take care of him as well. Treat him well. Just remember that he will be unfailingly loyal, and he will be sad without you. It will be hard to lose his loyalty, don’t take advantage of that. Remember how many things he does for you, and cherish and love him.” The boy buried his face into the dog’s soft beautiful fur. “Oh I will, always! I swear!”
The dog suddenly howled, growled, and snarled then chased away the beast that had been looking at the boy as if he was dinner. The boy gratefully laughed and hugged the dog to him, “Good boy!”
The Star watched as the boy happily ran off with the happy dog bounding behind him.
“You are foolish, to have bestowed such a gift upon the humans. You have too much faith in these humans.” Sighed Permethiak coming up behind Tierrihan, “The humans will forget what it was like before the dogs. They will take advantage of their unquestioning loyalty, and unending thirst for their human’s love. They will hurt them, neglect them, leave them hungry and abuse them. They will fail to realize how much the dogs will depend on them, and they will heartlessly discard them.”
Tierrihan looked in the distance at the boy playing, laughing and hugging his dog, and at how the dog adored him and wagged his tail happily. She saw the love in the boy’s eyes. She sighed, “You just can’t be right about that. It can’t happen!”
“It will Tierrihan, face it.” Permethiak too looked at the boy, and saw how much he loved the dog. “Maybe, just maybe there will be humans, like the boy, who will remember how wonderful dog creatures are. Maybe, THEY will turn around and be the new Guardians. The guardians of the lost and lonely, the hungry and cold, the tired, neglected and abused…
Teirriahn looked hopeful. “Maybe…”
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